The weekend has arrived. It’s an hour past noon, and at this time, I’m supposed to feel chill now. The work week is winding down and it’s time to relax.

The weekend has arrived, indeed, but there seems to be no slowing down this Friday. And since this morning (or last night), people around me — in person and on social media — have been as agitated as molecules in boiling water.

Can’t blame them. It’s 3 days to go before the National Elections. And propaganda is in full swing.

It’s tiring, to be honest, to read news and social media posts about this year’s elections.

And then there’s these ads appearing, using children as messengers of a statement.

There are two versions. The first is more, should I say, interrogative or thought-provoking. The other (which I believe hasn’t been shown on TV but can be found in YouTube) is more vulgar, to say the least.

As a parent, it hurts me to see children being exploited like that. Okay fine, one can argue that the first (sensitized) ad just goes to show that children are already made aware of the issues surrounding them. But I’m pretty sure it’s not the case in the second one, where kids are the ones delivering the cuss words.

Anyways, I find both ads a form of exploitation. Adults using kids as pawns to their agenda without thinking of the consequences to these young minds. Try watching the second ad and imagine the BTS or the “making of” of that ad; it will make you cringe, whether you’re a parent or not.

Also, are the ads saying that it’s the responsibility of the president to mold the children into good, well-mannered people? I believe the role of the president is to oversee the country. The one to oversee the child is his or her parent.

Values are taught at home. Values and personalities are strengthened at home. So that when they go out into the world, they won’t be too vulnerable, too easy to manipulate.

And the home is the domain of the parent.

What happened to the “if I want change, it should begin with me”? It’s not the sole responsibility of the highest leader of the land to produce change. It should be innate in all of us.

If we want change, we should change. Right?

Ah, politics. You never fail to amaze me. See what you did there? You made me ramble on a weekend.

So… since it’s nearing elections, I guess what I just want to say is: Vote Wisely.

And if Wisely was ever a person, he would have won the elections.

No, seriously. Vote with conscience. Vote for the person you believe can inspire change and inspire us to change for the better. Regardless of their survey standing, regardless of their endorsements or lack thereof.

You want a better future? Then let’s learn from the past and work on the present.